User equipment and method for dynamic non-orthogonal multiple access communication

ABSTRACT

Embodiments pertain to systems, methods, and component devices for dynamic non-orthogonal multiple access (NOMA) communications. A first example embodiment includes user equipment (UE) configured to receive a first downlink control indicator (DCI) from an evolved node B (eNB) and process the first subframe as a first higher power NOMA subframe in response to a first power ratio signal. The DCI includes the first power ratio signal for a first NOMA subframe. The UE may then receive, from the eNB, a second DCI, the second DCI comprising a second power ratio signal for a second subframe and process, by the UE, the second subframe as a second lower power NOMA subframe in response to the second power ratio signal. Additional embodiments may further use another DCI with a third power ratio signal to configure the UE to receive orthogonal multiple access (OMA) communications.

PRIORITY CLAIM

This application claims the benefit of priority under 35 U.S.C. 119(e)to U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 62/006,731, filed onJun. 2, 2014, which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

TECHNICAL FIELD

Some embodiments pertain to systems, methods, and component devicesassociated with a non-orthogonal multiple access (NOMA) communications.Some embodiments pertain to a use of downlink control indicators (DCI)for dynamic switching between different types of communicationsincluding NOMA communications. Some embodiments pertain tocommunications in accordance with one or the 3GPP LTE standards,including communications in accordance with LTE Advanced (LTE-A)releases 13 and 14. Some embodiments pertain to 5^(th) Generationwireless communication systems.

BACKGROUND

Wireless mobile communication technology uses various standards andprotocols to transmit data between a base transceiver station or evolveduniversal mobile telecommunications system terrestrial radio access nodeB (eNB) and a wireless mobile device or user equipment (UE).Conventional third generation and fourth generation wireless systems useorthogonal multiple access (OMA) where symbols do not interfere witheach other in multiple access techniques. Examples of OMA include codedivision multiple access (CDMA) and orthogonal frequency divisionmultiple access (OFDMA.) Users in such CDMA and OFDMA systems use aportion of the available radio resource orthogonally. By contrast,non-orthogonal multiple access (NOMA) involves multiple devices sharingthe same radio resource in such a way that the symbols of differentusers do interfere with each other. In NOMA systems, symbols todifferent users may essentially be transmitted on top of one another.User separation of the symbols mainly relies on smart power allocationat the transmitter side and advance processing at the receiver side toseparate the interfering symbols. This enables multiple devices to sharethe same bandwidth.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 illustrates a block diagram of a network which may be used in inaccordance with example embodiments.

FIG. 2 illustrates aspects of data subframes which may be used withdynamic NOMA according to example embodiments.

FIG. 3 shows a method for dynamic NOMA communications according toexample embodiments.

FIG. 4 shows a method for dynamic NOMA communications according toexample embodiments.

FIG. 5 illustrates an example UE which may be used with an asymmetricRAN, in accordance with some embodiments.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram illustrating an example computer systemmachine upon which any one or more of the methodologies herein discussedcan be run, in accordance with some embodiments.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Embodiments describe systems, methods, and component devices for anon-orthogonal multiple access (NOMA) communications. In particular,certain embodiments use advanced signaling to enable an evolveduniversal mobile telecommunications system terrestrial radio access nodeB (eNB) to select different transmission types to a single UE, with thetransmission types including NOMA transmissions and orthogonal multipleaccess (OMA) transmissions.

FIG. 1 illustrates a wireless network 100 in accordance with someembodiments. The wireless network 100 includes user equipment (UE) 110and 115. The UEs 110 and 115 may be, for example, laptop computers,smart phones, tablet computers, printers, machine-type devices such assmart meters, or any other wireless device with or without a userinterface. In an example, the UEs 110 and 115 have a wireless connectionvia air interface 120 in service area 140 to universal mobiletelecommunications system terrestrial radio access node B (eNB) 130,which provides the UEs 110 and 115 with access to the network 135. Thenetwork 135 may represent an interconnection of a number of networks.For instance, the network 135 may couple with a wide area network suchas the Internet or an intranet.

In some embodiments using wireless network 100, an eNB 130 is associatedwith several UE, and the eNB 130 determines that the use of NOMAcommunications to at least some of the UE will increase systemperformance. This occurs when two UE using the eNB 130 have asufficiently large difference in their signal-to-interference-plus-noiseratio (SINR). The eNB selects at least two UE for NOMA communications,with a first UE to receive a higher power NOMA subframe and a second UEto receive a lower power subframe.

The eNB 130 then generates a power ratio for each device, and integratesthis power ratio into a downlink control indicator (DCI) for each UEselected for NOMA communication. The DCI structure for NOMA signalingmay include at least two bits, with each state described by the two bitsassociated with a power ratio range, and therefore indicating whether agiven UE is to receive OMA data, higher power NOMA data, or lower powerNOMA data. The eNB 130 then generates a wireless NOMA signal thatincludes the higher power NOMA data and the lower power NOMA datatransmitted on top of each other as part of the same wireless signal.This signal is generated by power scaling the data for each UE, and thensumming the power scaled data. The wireless NOMA signal is structures asa subframe that includes the DCI for each UE in a control region, andthe scaled and summed NOMA transport data.

The first UE and the second UE both receive the same wireless NOMAsignal. Based on the first DCI directed to the first UE, the first UEprocesses the wireless NOMA signal to retrieve the higher power NOMAdata. Based on the second DCI directed to the second UE, the second UEprocesses the wireless NOMA signal to retrieve the lower power NOMAdata.

The higher power NOMA data may be processed with minimal extrafiltering, as the lower power NOMA data that is part of the wirelessNOMA signal may be treated as noise on the higher power NOMA data. Forthe lower power NOMA data, processing is needed to identify the symbolsof the lower power data because the lower power symbols will be obscuredby the higher power symbols. In certain embodiments, successiveinterference cancelation (SIC) may be used to identify the symbols inthe lower power data.

A subsequent DCI to each UE as part of following subframes may theninform each UE that a subsequent subframe is to be processed as adifferent type of communication. For example, the first UE may changepositions with the second UE so that the second SINR values for thefirst UE and the second UE swap characteristics. Each UE may receive aDCI indicating the type of communication to be received, and each UE maythen process the received communication with the signal type directed tothe UE identified by the respective DCI. If the eNB determines that NOMAcommunications are no longer efficient, then a DCI may be sent to eachUE indicating that OMA communications will be used.

The use of DCI to convey a NOMA signal indicator allows UE to receivehigher power NOMA communications, lower power NOMA communications, orOMA communications in consecutive subframes, so that a single frame mayswitch back and forth between different communication types within asingle frame. This use of dynamic NOMA communications may improve eNBthroughput by up to 30% over static systems which only use one type ofcommunication and where a system is not able to adapt to changingconditions that may create efficient environments for NOMAcommunications.

In certain embodiments, the DCI may only communicate a NOMA signalindicator that describes the type of data in a given subframe. Detailedpower ratio information may be communicated as part of radio resourcecontrol signaling. A radio resource control signal including power ratiosettings that provide detailed power ratio values may be sent to a UE.The UE may then use those detailed power ratio values for all NOMAcommunications received at the UE. If an update to the detailed powerratio values is needed, an update may be sent in subsequent radioresource control signals.

FIG. 2 then illustrates a partial frame of data 200, with subframes 201,211, and 221 shown which may be sent via air interface 120 from eNB 130to both UE 110 and UE 115 as part of a NOMA communication. Subframe 201includes first DCI 202 and second DCI in a control region 204. Each DCIcarries detailed information for a particular UE, including theinformation about which demodulation scheme needs to be used by the UEto decode data, and where the data for a particular UE may be foundwithin a subframe. In certain embodiments, a system may use differentDCI formats within the system at the same time to provide informationfor different environments.

Embodiments described herein include at least one DCI format having aNOMA signal indicator element. The NOMA signal indicator element holds avalue that may be used by a UE to determine whether the data for the UEis encoded with as higher power NOMA data, lower power NOMA data, or asOMA data. One example of a NOMA signal indicator element is a powerratio element. As described in more detail below, generation of NOMAsignals according to certain embodiments comprises power scaling datafor data meant for different devices, and then summing the power scaleddata. The data for one UE is scaled to have a higher power, and the datafor another UE is scaled to have a lower power. Because of this scaling,a power ratio for the lower power data as summed with the higher powerdata is always less than 0.5 and greater than 0. Similarly, the powerratio for the higher power data is always above 0.5 and less than 1. Apower ratio of 1 means that there was no summing of multiple signals anda signal is therefore not a NOMA signal as described herein. Given thesecharacteristics of power ratios for NOMA and OMA communications, a powerratio value provides information about the type of signal that isassociated with the power ratio.

Each DCI 202, 203, 212, 213, and 222 is communicated during controlregions 204, 214, and 224 of each subframe. Each DCI 202, 203, 213, 212,and 222 provides information about a transport block within a subframethat holds data. Subframes 201 and 211 include NOMA data that has beenscaled and summed. In subframe 201, this NOMA data includes first higherpower NOMA data 206 and first lower power NOMA data 208. Each part ofthe NOMA data will be associated with a DCI, and each DCI associatedwith UE data will be directed to a particular UE. Thus, first DCI 202and first higher power NOMA data 206 may be directed to UE 110 from eNB130, and 2^(nd) DCI 203 may be associated with 1^(st) lower power NOMAdata 208 and directed to UE 115.

In subsequent subframes, the type of data directed to each UE maychange. This may occur, for example, because of a change in the SINR foreach device. Thus for subframe 211, the third DCI 212 may be associatedwith the second lower power NOMA data 218 and directed to UE 115, andthe fourth DCI 213 may be associated with the second higher power NOMAdata 216, and directed to UE 115. Similarly, within a single frame, thedata directed to a particular UE may change from NOMA data to OMA data.Subframe 221 includes fifth DCI 222. Fifth DCI 222 is associated withorthogonal frequency division multiple access data 226, and may bedirected to UE 110. Thus, in various embodiments, a single frame of datamay include many combinations of data types, including NOMA data to afirst and second UE as well as NOMA data to the second UE and a third UEin the same frame. Similarly, a single UE may receive NOMA data and OMAdata from the same eNB as part of the same frame of data.

FIG. 3 then describes a method 300 for dynamic NOMA communications.Method 300 is described with respect to system 100 and partial frame ofdata 200, but may be implemented with other systems and data structuresin various different embodiments.

Operation 302 involves UE 110 receiving, from eNB 130, a firstnon-orthogonal multiple access (NOMA) subframe 201 comprising a firstDCI 202 and a second DCI 203. The first DCI 202 is directed to UE 110and the second DCI is directed to UE 115. Additionally, the first DCI202 comprises a first power ratio signal.

Operation 304 then involves processing a first data set of the firstNOMA subframe as first higher power NOMA data in response to the firstpower ratio signal. As described above, a power ratio signal mayfunction as an indicator of the type of data in a subframe. When UE 110receives subframe 201, it may initially process the data in controlregion 204 to determine that data in subframe 201 was sent from eNB 130to UE 110. UE 110 may make this determination based on information fromthe first DCI 202. Once UE determines that data in subframe 201 isdirected to UE 110, UE 110 may identify the first power ratio signal inthe first DCI 202. When the first power ratio signal is used todetermine that the data for UE 110 was sent as higher power NOMA data,UE 110 can then identify first higher power NOMA data 206 from subframe201, and use the information in first DCI 202 to decode the first higherpower NOMA data 206. A similar process will be carried out by UE 115 forfirst lower power NOMA data 208.

DCI signaling may then be used to process data of a different type froma subsequent subframe of the same frame of data. As part of this,operation 306 involves receiving at UE 110 from eNB 130, a second NOMAsubframe 211. The second subframe 211 includes a third DCI 212 and afourth DCI 213. Just as for the initial subframe 201, the DCI directedto UE 110 includes a power ratio signal, so that the third DCI 212comprises a second power ratio signal.

Just as described above, the second power ratio signal may be used toidentify the data in subframe 211 sent to UE 110 from eNB 130. Inoperation 308, however processing of the second power ratio signal isused to determine that the lower power data was sent to UE 110 insubframe 211, as compared with the higher power data that was sent to UE110 in subframe 201. Operation 208 thus involves processing the secondlower power NOMA data 218 for UE 110 in response to the second powerratio signal in third DCI 212. Just as with subframe 211, UE 115 willperform a similar process with the second higher power NOMA data 216.

Additional details related to certain implementations of dynamic NOMAcommunications are now described, again in the context of system 100,though various implementations may use other systems. One example ofdownlink NOMA systems can be illustrated assuming that one eNB 130serves two UEs 110 and 115 using the same frequency/time resource. TheeNB 130 is mounted with one or two transmit antennas and each UE ismounted with N_r receive antennas. The modulated symbols fortransmission as data from eNB 130 to both UE 110 and UE 115 are summedup after power scaling and before transmission via an air interface 120.This may be described as:

$\begin{matrix}{y_{i} = {{H_{i}\underset{\underset{x}{︸}}{\left( {{\sqrt{p_{1}}\underset{\underset{P}{︸}}{\left\lbrack {P_{1},P_{2}} \right\rbrack/\sqrt{2}}\underset{\underset{x_{1}}{︸}}{\begin{bmatrix}x_{1,1} \\x_{1,2}\end{bmatrix}}} + {\sqrt{p_{2}}P_{1}x_{2}}} \right)}} + n_{i}}} & (1)\end{matrix}$where y_i is N_r×1 received signal vectors; H_i is N_r×N_t channelmatrix of UE 110; p_i is the power scaling factor for UE 110;[P_1,P_2]/√2 is the precoder for UE 110 and it is reduced to P_1 if UE110 has rank one transmission; P_1 is a precoder for UE 115; x_i is thedata symbol(s) of the codeword(s) which is(are) intended for UE 110; xis the super-imposed data symbol of both UEs 110 and 115; n_i is N_r×1noise vector; N_r is the number of receive antennas for each UE; N_t isnumber of transmit antennas for eNB 130.

The power allocation is subject to the constraint thatp ₁ +p ₂=1  (2)

Assuming |(H₁P₁)^(H)(H₁P₁)|/r>|(H₂P₁)^(H)(H₂P₁)|, then as a resultsp₁<p₂, where r is the transmission rank of UE 110.

Each UE can first estimate the super-imposed data symbol using linearreceiver, e.g. MRC receiver using equation (3):{circumflex over (x)}=G _(i) y _(i) =Ĥ _(i) ^(H) y _(i) /∥Ĥ _(i)∥  (3)

After that, both UE 110 and UE 115 can decode the codeword of UE 115first. If the codeword of UE 115 is decoded successfully, UE 115 doesnot need to perform any further decoding since UE 115 then has the datafrom eNB 130 that was directed to UE 115. UE 110 can reconstruct thesecond data symbol

x^_2=H^_I x

_2 and subtract it from the super-imposed data symbol x^ to estimatedata symbol x_1 which is intended for UE 115. The estimated data symbolof the codeword related to symbol x_1 can be written as:{circumflex over (x)} ₁=({circumflex over (x)}−σ√{square root over (p₂)}{circumflex over (x)} ₂)/√{square root over (p ₁)}  (4)where σ is the interference cancellation factor and σε[0,1]. When σequals to 1, the code word of UE 115 is canceled completely.

Given (1) above, users with large SINR differences may be pairedtogether to maximize the gain associated with NOMA communications. Apower control system may be used to set a high transmit power for a UEwith low channel gain, and a low transmit power for a UE with highchannel gain. One way to determine the power level for UE 110 is tosolve:

$\begin{matrix}{{\frac{1}{2}{\log_{2}\left( {1 + \gamma_{2}} \right)}} = {\log_{2}\left( {1 + \frac{\left( {1 - p_{1}^{*}} \right)\gamma_{2}}{{\left( {p_{1}^{*}/r} \right)\gamma_{2}} + 1}} \right)}} & (5)\end{matrix}$where γ_2 is the SNR of UE2.

When (5) is satisfied, the channel capacity of UE 115 equals that of OMAtransmission in which UE 115 is allocated half of the system bandwidthand served with full transmit power. A channel capacity gain for NOMAoperation verses OMA operation is dependent on the channel capacity ofUE 110, which can be expressed as:

$\begin{matrix}{{C_{NOMA}\; C_{OMA}} = {{\log_{2}\left( 1 \middle| {p_{1}^{*}\gamma_{1}} \right)}\frac{1}{2}{\log_{2}\left( 1 \middle| \gamma_{1} \right)}}} & (6)\end{matrix}$where γ_1 is the SNR of UE 110.

A power allocation strategy for a system may be given by

$\begin{matrix}{{p_{1}^{*} = \frac{\sqrt{1 + \gamma_{2}} - 1}{\gamma_{2}}},{{{where}\mspace{14mu}\gamma_{2}} > 0.}} & (7)\end{matrix}$

A channel capacity gain for NOMA communications over OMA communicationsis then achieved if the power allocation ration of UE 110 satisfies:

$\begin{matrix}{{p_{1}^{*} > \frac{\sqrt{1 + \gamma_{1}} - 1}{\gamma_{1}}},{{{where}\mspace{14mu}\gamma_{1}} > 0},{{{when}\mspace{14mu}\gamma_{1}} > \gamma_{2}},{p_{1}^{*}s}} & (8)\end{matrix}$

An eNB may then use this assessment of the channel capacity gain fromNOMA communications against OMA communications to determine when todynamically use NOMA communications, and also to determine which UE toassign as recipients of higher power NOMA data and which UE to assign asrecipients of lower power data.

In certain embodiments, dynamically switching between OMA and NOMAavoids a degradation of overall system capacity when the systemenvironment is not optimal for one or the other types of communications.In certain implementations, dynamic switching between OMA and NOMA maybe decided by an eNB or system controller based on proportional fairnessmetrics. When the benefits of NOMA communication are analyzed asdescribed above for multiple UEs in communication with an eNB, the sumof a set of proportion fairness metrics in a pair of UE is used as theproportional fairness metric for the NOMA pairing. If the proportionalfairness metric of the best NOMA pair available to an eNB is higher thanthe proportional fairness metric of the best single user transmission,NOMA transmission is applied. Otherwise, OMA communications to single UEare used.

Given various implementations of the above described decision makingprocess for using NOMA communications, a single UE may be selected toreceive both higher power NOMA data and lower power NOMA data asignificant percentage of the time, depending on the number of users foran eNB and the particular power allocation methods used. Suchpercentages may be as high as 80 percent in certain implementations andoperational environments.

The signaling for dynamic NOMA communications may then be done using DCIeither alone, or in conjunction with additional signaling. In a firstexample embodiment, a certain number of bits are assigned in a DCIformat as NOMA signaling elements. This may, in certain embodiments,involve 4-8 bits of a certain DCI format. When the value for the NOMAsignaling is a power ratio value between 0 and 0.5, a UE is signaled toreceive lower power NOMA data, and when the value for the NOMA signalingis a power ratio value between 0.5 and 1, the UE is signaled to receivehigher power NOMA data. When a NOMA signaling value is equal to one, theUE is signaled to receive normal OMA communications.

In an alternative embodiment, only 2-3 bits of a DCI format may beassigned as a NOMA signaling element. These bits are assigned to signalat least four power states, and may either be added to existing DCIformats, or may reuse existing bit patters which are redundant in anexisting DCI format. Each power ratio state is mapped to one power ratiovalue. One power ratio state for the 2-3 bits is mapped to OMAtransmission. One power ratio state is mapped to lower power NOMA data,and one power ratio state is mapped to higher power NOMA data. For thestates mapped to NOMA data, the 2 or 3 bit implementations do notprovide enough states to accurately represent the power ratio of thesystem. In such embodiments, an additional signal to provide detailedpower ratio values may be signaled with radio resource control (RRC)signaling. Such embodiments may enable dynamic use of NOMAcommunications on a subframe basis, but the power ratio may only bechanged by RRC signaling, and so system opportunities to change powerratios during operation will occur less frequently than theopportunities to dynamically change from NOMA to OMA or between types ofNOMA communications to a single UE. In one example embodiment, DCIsignaling may enable data received by a UE to change every subframe,while the power ratio value associated with NOMA communications to theUE may only change every frame, or after multiple frames defined by RRCsignaling frequency.

FIG. 4 then describes another method for dynamic NOMA communicationsaccording to certain example embodiments, shown as method 400. Just asabove for method 300, method 400 may be performed by a variety ofdifferent systems, but is described with respect to system 100 for thesake of illustration.

Operation 402 of method 400 involves selecting a first UE 110 associatedwith the eNB 130 to receive higher power non-orthogonal multiple access(NOMA) communications. Operation 404 involves selecting a second UE 115different than the first UE110 to receive lower power NOMAcommunications as part of a NOMA pair with the first UE 110. Asdescribed above, a NOMA pair may be selected by comparing the throughputof OMA communications with the throughput of NOMA communications. WheneNB 130 is communicating with a large number of UE in addition to UE 110and UE 115, eNB 130 may sort UE by SINR or other UE characteristics, andmay test NOMA pairs in order based on the UE characteristics. In otherembodiments, an eNB may test all possible combinations of NOMA pairs forUE currently in communication with eNB 130, and may then calculate orestimate an optimal distribution of NOMA pair and OMA single UEcommunications. In alternate embodiments, a combination of estimatesfrom a limited set of NOMA pairs combined with estimated optimizationselections may be used to determine whether NOMA or OMA communicationsare used for each UE communicating with eNB 130.

Operation 406 then involves determining a first power ratio associatedwith the higher power NOMA communications and a second power ratioassociated with the lower power NOMA communications. This information isthen used in operation 406 to generate a first NOMA subframe. Variousexample embodiments of a NOMA subframe are described above. The NOMAsubframe may be generated in operation 408 by creating a first DCI forthe first UE 110, a second DCI for the second UE 115, and generating thetransmission data by scaling the data for each UE with the appropriatepower ratio, and then summing the scaled data.

After the NOMA subframe is generated, operation 410 involvestransmitting the first NOMA subframe via an air interface 120 as a firstwireless signal to the first UE 110 and the second UE 115.

In addition to the various embodiments described above, additionalalternative embodiments are also possible, and no single implementationdescribed herein defines a scope for all embodiments.

One additional example comprises a UE configured to receive, from anevolved universal mobile telecommunications system terrestrial radioaccess node B (eNB), a first non-orthogonal multiple access (NOMA)subframe comprising a first downlink control indicator (DCI) and a thirdDCI, wherein the first DCI is directed to the UE, the third DCI isdirected to a second UE, and the first DCI comprises a first power ratiosignal. The UE is also configured to process a first data set of thefirst NOMA subframe as first higher power NOMA data in response to thefirst power ratio signal and receive, from the eNB, a second NOMAsubframe comprising a second DCI and a fourth DCI, the second DCIcomprising a second power ratio signal. The UE is also configured toprocess a first data set of the second NOMA subframe as second lowerpower NOMA data in response to the second power ratio signal.

Additional implementations of such a UE may further be configured wherethe first NOMA subframe is received by the UE as a first NOMA signalcomprising the first higher power NOMA data and first lower power NOMAdata; the first DCI identifies that the first higher power NOMA data isdirected to the UE; the first lower power NOMA data comprises a signaldirected to the second UE; and the third DCI is associated with thefirst lower power NOMA data.

Additional implementations of such a UE may further be configured wherethe second NOMA subframe is received by the UE as a second NOMA signalcomprising the second lower power NOMA data and second higher power NOMAdata; wherein the second DCI identifies that the second lower power NOMAdata is directed to the UE; wherein the second higher power NOMA datacomprises a second signal directed to the second UE; and wherein thefourth DCI is associated with the second higher power NOMA data.

Additional implementations of such a UE may further be configured wherethe first higher power NOMA data and the first lower power NOMA data useshared frequency and time resource elements; and wherein the secondhigher power NOMA data and the second lower power NOMA data use sharedfrequency and time resource elements.

Additional implementations of such a UE may further be configured whereprocessing the second lower power NOMA data comprises performing aninterference cancelation process to cancel interference from the secondhigher power NOMA data.

Additional implementations of such a UE may further be configured wherethe interference cancelation process comprises successive interferencecancellation (SIC).

Additional implementations of such a UE may further be configured wherea first power ratio associated with the first power ratio signal is aratio between 0.5 and 1

Additional implementations of such a UE may further be configured wherea second power ratio associated with the second power ratio signal isbetween 0 and 0.5.

Additional implementations of such a UE may further be configured wherethe second NOMA subframe directly follows the first NOMA subframe aspart of a first frame of data.

Additional implementations of such a UE may further be configured toreceive, by the UE from the (eNB), a third subframe, the third subframecomprising a fifth DCI, and the fifth DCI comprising a fifth power ratiosignal; and process, by the UE, a third data set of the third subframeas an orthogonal multiple access subframe in response to the fifth powerratio signal; wherein the third subframe is part of the first frame ofdata.

Additional implementations of such a UE may further be configured wherethe fifth power ratio is equal to 1.

Additional implementations of such a UE may further be configured toreceive, from the eNB prior to receiving the first DCI communication, aradio resource control (RRC) communication, wherein the RRCcommunication indicates an initial UE state as a NOMA state or anorthogonal multiple access state.

Additional implementations of such a UE may further be configured wherethe UE comprises an antenna configured to receive the first NOMAsubframe; and an integrated circuit coupled to the antenna andconfigured to receive the first NOMA subframe from the antenna and toprocess the first data as the first higher power NOMA data in responseto the first DCI. In alternate embodiments, any UE may be implementedusing details of UE 500 described below, or any other suchimplementation of a UE described herein or using combinations ofelements described herein.

Another example embodiment of dynamic NOMA communications is a methodfor wireless communications comprising receiving, at a first userequipment (UE) from an evolved universal mobile telecommunicationssystem terrestrial radio access node B (eNB), a first subframe, thefirst subframe comprising a first downlink control indicator (DCI)directed to the first UE, a third DCI directed to a second UE, firstdata associated with the first DCI, and third data associated with thesecond DCI, wherein the first DCI comprises a first non-orthogonalmultiple access (NOMA) signal indicator; processing the first data asfirst higher power NOMA data in response to the first NOMA signalindicator; receiving, at the UE from the eNB, a second subframe, thesecond subframe comprising a second DCI associated with the first UE, afourth DCI associated with the second UE, second data associated withthe second DCI, and fourth data associated with the fourth DCI, whereinthe second DCI comprises a second NOMA signal indicator; and processing,by the UE, the second data as a second lower power NOMA subframe inresponse to the second NOMA signal indicator; wherein the first subframeand the second subframe are received by the UE as part of a first frameof data.

Such a method may further operate, in certain embodiments, where theNOMA signal indicator comprises eight bits of the first DCI, with eachvalue state of the NOMA signal indicator representing a power ratio,with each power ratio comprising a value between 0 and 1, excluding thevalues of 0 and 0.5 and including the value 1.

Another example embodiment is a non-transitory computer readable mediumcomprising computer readable instructions that, when executed by aprocessor, cause a user equipment (UE) to receive radio resource control(RRC) signaling; receive a first subframe comprising a first downlinkcontrol indicator (DCI) and a third DCI, wherein the first DCI isdirected to the UE, the third DCI is directed to a second UE, and thefirst DCI comprises a first power ratio signal; process first data ofthe first subframe as first higher power non-orthogonal multiple access(NOMA) data in response to the first power ratio signal; receive, fromthe eNB, a second subframe comprising a second DCI and a fourth DCI, athe second DCI comprising a second power ratio signal; process firstdata of the second subframe as second lower power NOMA data in responseto the second power ratio signal.

Further examples of such a medium may include implementations where thefirst power ratio signal comprises two bits of the DCI; wherein a firstpower ratio state of a DCI format associated with the DCI is mapped toan orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDMA) transmission;wherein a second power ratio state of the DCI format is mapped to apower ratio value between 0 and 0.5 with a first detailed power ratiovalue determined by the RRC signaling; and wherein a third power ratiostate of the DCI format is mapped to a power ratio value between 0.5 and1 with a second detailed power ratio value determined by the RRCsignaling.

In various implementations of an eNB described herein, a first UE isselected to receive the higher power NOMA communication based on a firstdistance from the eNB to the first UE and a second distance from the eNBto the second UE.

In other implementations an eNB described herein may be configured toselect, following transmission of the first wireless signal, the firstUE to receive first orthogonal frequency division multiple access(OFDMA) data; select, following transmission of the first wirelesssignal, the second UE to receive second higher power non-orthogonalmultiple access (NOMA) data; select a third UE different than the firstUE and the second UE to receive second lower power NOMA data;communicate a third subframe comprising a third DCI and first OFDMA datato the first UE in response to selection of the first UE to receive thefirst OFDMA subframe; communicate a fourth subframe to the second UE andthe third UE. Such a fourth subframe may comprise a fourth DCIcomprising a third power ratio; a fifth DCI comprising a fourth powerratio; second higher power data associated with the fourth DCI; andsecond lower power data associated with the fifth DCI.

FIG. 5 illustrates an example of a UE 500. The UE 500 can be used as animplementation of any UE described herein, including UE 110 and UE 115.UE 500 can also be any mobile device, a mobile station (MS), a mobilewireless device, a mobile communication device, a tablet, a handset, orother type of mobile wireless computing device. The UE 500 can includeone or more antennas 508 within housing 502 that are configured tocommunicate with a hotspot, base station (BS), an eNB, or other type ofWLAN or WWAN access point. UE may thus communicate with a WAN such asthe Internet via an eNB or base station transceiver implemented as partof an asymmetric RAN as detailed above. UE 500 can be configured tocommunicate using multiple wireless communication standards, includingstandards selected from 3GPP LTE, WiMAX, High Speed Packet Access(HSPA), Bluetooth, and Wi-Fi standard definitions. The UE 500 cancommunicate using separate antennas for each wireless communicationstandard or shared antennas for multiple wireless communicationstandards. The UE 500 can communicate in a WLAN, a WPAN, and/or a WWAN.

FIG. 5 also shows a microphone 520 and one or more speakers 512 that canbe used for audio input and output from the UE 500. A display screen 504can be a liquid crystal display (LCD) screen, or other type of displayscreen such as an organic light emitting diode (OLED) display. Thedisplay screen 504 can be configured as a touch screen. The touch screencan use capacitive, resistive, or another type of touch screentechnology. An application processor 514 and a graphics processor 518can be coupled to internal memory 516 to provide processing and displaycapabilities. A non-volatile memory port 510 can also be used to providedata input/output options to a user. The non-volatile memory port 510can also be used to expand the memory capabilities of the UE 500. Akeyboard 506 can be integrated with the UE 500 or wirelessly connectedto the UE 500 to provide additional user input. A virtual keyboard canalso be provided using the touch screen. A camera 522 located on thefront (display screen) side or the rear side of the UE 500 can also beintegrated into the housing 502 of the UE 500. Any such elements may beused to generate information that may be communicated as uplink data viaan asymmetric C-RAN and to receive information that may be communicatedas downlink data via an asymmetric C-RAN as described herein.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram illustrating an example computer systemmachine 600 upon which any one or more of the methodologies hereindiscussed can be run. Computer system machine 600 or elements ofcomputer system machine 600 can be embodied as the a UE 500, eNB 130, UE110, UE 115, or any other computing platform or element described orreferred to herein. In various alternative embodiments, the machineoperates as a standalone device or can be connected (e.g., networked) toother machines. In a networked deployment, the machine can operate inthe capacity of either a server or a client machine in server-clientnetwork environments, or it can act as a peer machine in peer-to-peer(or distributed) network environments. The machine can be a personalcomputer (PC) that may or may not be portable (e.g., a notebook or anetbook), a tablet, a set-top box (STB), a gaming console, a PersonalDigital Assistant (PDA), a mobile telephone or smartphone, a webappliance, a network router, switch or bridge, or any machine capable ofexecuting instructions (sequential or otherwise) that specify actions tobe taken by that machine. Further, while only a single machine isillustrated, the term “machine” shall also be taken to include anycollection of machines that individually or jointly execute a set (ormultiple sets) of instructions to perform any one or more of themethodologies discussed herein.

Example computer system machine 600 includes a processor 602 (e.g., acentral processing unit (CPU), a graphics processing unit (GPU) orboth), a main memory 604 and a static memory 606, which communicate witheach other via an interconnect 608 (e.g., a link, a bus, etc.). Thecomputer system machine 600 can further include a video display unit610, an alphanumeric input device 612 (e.g., a keyboard), and a userinterface (UI) navigation device 614 (e.g., a mouse). In one embodiment,the video display unit 610, input device 612 and UI navigation device614 are a touch screen display. The computer system machine 600 canadditionally include a storage device 616 (e.g., a drive unit), a signalgeneration device 618 (e.g., a speaker), an output controller 632, apower management controller 634, and a network interface device 620(which can include or operably communicate with one or more antennas630, transceivers, or other wireless communications hardware), and oneor more sensors 628, such as a Global Positioning Sensor (GPS) sensor,compass, location sensor, accelerometer, or other sensor.

The storage device 616 includes a machine-readable medium 622 on whichis stored one or more sets of data structures and instructions 624(e.g., software) embodying or utilized by any one or more of themethodologies or functions described herein. The instructions 624 canalso reside, completely or at least partially, within the main memory604, static memory 606, and/or within the processor 602 during executionthereof by the computer system machine 600, with the main memory 604,static memory 606, and the processor 602 also constitutingmachine-readable media.

While the machine-readable medium 622 is illustrated in an exampleembodiment to be a single medium, the term “machine-readable medium” caninclude a single medium or multiple media (e.g., a centralized ordistributed database, and/or associated caches and servers) that storethe one or more instructions 624. The term “machine-readable medium”shall also be taken to include any tangible medium that is capable ofstoring, encoding or carrying instructions for execution by the machineand that cause the machine to perform any one or more of themethodologies of the present disclosure or that is capable of storing,encoding or carrying data structures utilized by or associated with suchinstructions.

The instructions 624 can further be transmitted or received over acommunications network 626 using a transmission medium via the networkinterface device 620 utilizing any one of a number of well-knowntransfer protocols (e.g., HTTP). The term “transmission medium” shall betaken to include any intangible medium that is capable of storing,encoding, or carrying instructions for execution by the machine, andincludes digital or analog communications signals or other intangiblemedium to facilitate communication of such software.

Various techniques, or certain aspects or portions thereof may take theform of program code (i.e., instructions) embodied in tangible media,such as floppy diskettes, CD-ROMs, hard drives, non-transitory computerreadable storage medium, or any other machine-readable storage mediumwherein, when the program code is loaded into and executed by a machine,such as a computer, the machine becomes an apparatus for practicing thevarious techniques. In the case of program code execution onprogrammable computers, the computing device may include a processor, astorage medium readable by the processor (including volatile andnon-volatile memory and/or storage elements), at least one input device,and at least one output device. The volatile and non-volatile memoryand/or storage elements may be a RAM, EPROM, flash drive, optical drive,magnetic hard drive, or other medium for storing electronic data. Thebase station and mobile station may also include a transceiver module, acounter module, a processing module, and/or a clock module or timermodule. One or more programs that may implement or utilize the varioustechniques described herein may use an application programming interface(API), reusable controls, and the like. Such programs may be implementedin a high level procedural or object oriented programming language tocommunicate with a computer system. However, the program(s) may beimplemented in assembly or machine language, if desired. In any case,the language may be a compiled or interpreted language, and combinedwith hardware implementations.

Although the preceding examples of wireless network connections wereprovided with specific reference to 3GPP LTE/LTE-A, IEEE 802.11, andBluetooth communication standards, it will be understood that a varietyof other WWAN, WLAN, and WPAN protocols and standards can be used inconnection with the techniques described herein. These standardsinclude, but are not limited to, other standards from 3GPP (e.g., HSPA+,UMTS), IEEE 802.16 (e.g., 802.16p), or Bluetooth (e.g., Bluetooth 4.0,or like standards defined by the Bluetooth Special Interest Group)standards families. Other applicable network configurations can beincluded within the scope of the presently described communicationnetworks. It will be understood that communications on suchcommunication networks can be facilitated using any number of personalarea networks, LANs, and WANs, using any combination of wired orwireless transmission mediums.

The embodiments described above can be implemented in one or acombination of hardware, firmware, and software. Various methods ortechniques, or certain aspects or portions thereof, can take the form ofprogram code (i.e., instructions) embodied in tangible media, such asflash memory, hard drives, portable storage devices, read-only memory(ROM), random-access memory (RAM), semiconductor memory devices (e.g.,Electrically Programmable Read-Only Memory (EPROM), ElectricallyErasable Programmable Read-Only Memory (EEPROM)), magnetic disk storagemedia, optical storage media, and any other machine-readable storagemedium or storage device wherein, when the program code is loaded intoand executed by a machine, such as a computer or networking device, themachine becomes an apparatus for practicing the various techniques.

A machine-readable storage medium or other storage device can includeany non-transitory mechanism for storing information in a form readableby a machine (e.g., a computer). In the case of program code executingon programmable computers, the computing device can include a processor,a storage medium readable by the processor (including volatile andnon-volatile memory and/or storage elements), at least one input device,and at least one output device. One or more programs that can implementor utilize the various techniques described herein can use anapplication programming interface (API), reusable controls, and thelike. Such programs can be implemented in a high level procedural orobject oriented programming language to communicate with a computersystem. However, the program(s) can be implemented in assembly ormachine language, if desired. In any case, the language can be acompiled or interpreted language, and combined with hardwareimplementations.

It should be understood that the functional units or capabilitiesdescribed in this specification can have been referred to or labeled ascomponents or modules, in order to more particularly emphasize theirimplementation independence. For example, a component or module can beimplemented as a hardware circuit comprising custom very-large-scaleintegration (VLSI) circuits or gate arrays, off-the-shelf semiconductorssuch as logic chips, transistors, or other discrete components. Acomponent or module can also be implemented in programmable hardwaredevices such as field programmable gate arrays, programmable arraylogic, programmable logic devices, or the like. Components or modulescan also be implemented in software for execution by various types ofprocessors. An identified component or module of executable code can,for instance, comprise one or more physical or logical blocks ofcomputer instructions, which can, for instance, be organized as anobject, procedure, or function. Nevertheless, the executables of anidentified component or module need not be physically located together,but can comprise disparate instructions stored in different locationswhich, when joined logically together, comprise the component or moduleand achieve the stated purpose for the component or module.

Indeed, a component or module of executable code can be a singleinstruction, or many instructions, and can even be distributed overseveral different code segments, among different programs, and acrossseveral memory devices. Similarly, operational data can be identifiedand illustrated herein within components or modules, and can be embodiedin any suitable form and organized within any suitable type of datastructure. The operational data can be collected as a single data set,or can be distributed over different locations including over differentstorage devices, and can exist, at least partially, merely as electronicsignals on a system or network. The components or modules can be passiveor active, including agents operable to perform desired functions.

Additional examples of the presently described method, system, anddevice embodiments include the following, non-limiting configurations.Each of the following non-limiting examples can stand on its own, or canbe combined in any permutation or combination with any one or more ofthe other examples provided below or throughout the present disclosure.

What is claimed is:
 1. User equipment (UE) comprising hardwareprocessing circuitry configured to: receive, from an evolved node B(eNB), a first non-orthogonal multiple access (NOMA) subframe comprisinga first downlink control indicator (DCI) and a second DCI, wherein thefirst DCI is directed to the UE, the second DCI is directed to a secondUE, and wherein the first DCI comprises a first power ratio signal;process a first data set of the first NOMA subframe as first higherpower NOMA data in response to the first power ratio signal; receive,from the eNB, a second NOMA subframe comprising a third DCI and a fourthDCI, the third DCI comprising a second power ratio signal; and process afirst data set of the second NOMA subframe as second lower power NOMAdata in response to the second power ratio signal; wherein the firstNOMA subframe is received by the UE as a first NOMA signal comprisingthe first higher power NOMA data and first lower power NOMA data;wherein the first DCI identifies that the first higher NOMA data isdirected to the UE; wherein the first lower power NOMA data comprises asignal directed to the second UE; and where the second DCI is associatedwith the first lower power NOMA data.
 2. The UE of claim 1, wherein theUE comprises: an antenna configured to receive the first NOMA subframe;and wherein the hardware processing circuitry is coupled to the antennaand configured to receive the first NOMA subframe from the antenna andto process the first data as the first higher power NOMA data inresponse to the first DCI.
 3. The UE of claim 1 wherein the second NOMAsubframe is received by the UE as a second NOMA signal comprising thesecond lower power NOMA data and second higher power NOMA data; whereinthe third DCI identifies that the second lower power NOMA data isdirected to the UE; wherein the second higher power NOMA data comprisesa second signal directed to the second UE; and wherein the fourth DCI isassociated with the second higher power NOMA data.
 4. The UE of claim 3wherein the first higher power NOMA data and the first lower power NOMAdata use shared frequency and time resource elements; and wherein thesecond higher power NOMA data and the second lower power NOMA data useshared frequency and time resource elements.
 5. The UE of claim 4wherein processing the second lower power NOMA data comprises performingan interference cancelation process to cancel interference from thesecond higher power NOMA data.
 6. The UE of claim 5 wherein theinterference cancelation process comprises successive interferencecancellation (SIC).
 7. The UE of claim 1 wherein a first power ratioassociated with the first power ratio signal is a ratio between 0.5and
 1. 8. The UE of claim 7 wherein a second power ratio associated withthe second power ratio signal is between 0 and 0.5.
 9. The UE of claim 1wherein the second NOMA subframe directly follows the first NOMAsubframe as part of a first frame of data.
 10. The UE of claim 9 whereinthe UE is further configured to: receive, by the UE from the (eNB), athird subframe, the third subframe comprising a fifth DCI, and the fifthDCI comprising a fifth power ratio signal; and process, by the UE, athird data set of the third subframe as an orthogonal multiple accesssubframe in response to the fifth power ratio signal; wherein the thirdsubframe is part of the first frame of data.
 11. The UE of claim 10wherein the fifth power ratio is equal to
 1. 12. The UE of claim 1wherein the UE is further configured to: receive, from the eNB prior toreceiving the first DCI communication, a radio resource control (RRC)communication, wherein the RRC communication indicates an initial UEstate as a NOMA state or an orthogonal multiple access state.
 13. Anon-transitory computer readable medium comprising computer readableinstructions that, when executed by one or more processors, cause a userequipment (UE) to: receive radio resource control (RRC) signalingcomprising a power ratio settings; receive a first subframe comprising afirst downlink control indicator (DCI) and a second DCI, wherein thefirst DCI is directed to the UE, the second DCI is directed to a secondUE, and the first DCI comprises a first power ratio signal; processfirst data of the first subframe as first higher power non-orthogonalmultiple access (NOMA) data in response to the first power ratio signal;receive, from the eNB, a second subframe comprising a third DCI and afourth DCI, a the third DCI comprising a second power ratio signal;process first data of the second subframe as second lower power NOMAdata in response to le second power ratio signal, and using the detailedpower ratio setting from the RRC signaling; wherein the first subframeis received by the UE as a first non-orthogonal multiple access (NOMA)signal comprising first higher power NOMA data and first lower powerNOMA data; wherein the first DCI identifies that the first higher powerNOMA data is directed to the UE; wherein the first lower power NOMA datacomprises a signal directed to the second UE; and where the second DCIis associated with the first lower NOMA data.
 14. The non-transitorycomputer readable medium of claim 13 wherein the first power ratiosignal comprises two bits of the DCI; wherein a first power ratio stateof a DCI format associated with the DCI is mapped to an orthogonalfrequency division multiple access (OFDMA) transmission; wherein asecond power ratio state of the DCI format is mapped to a power ratiovalue between 0 and 0.5 with a first detailed power ratio valuedetermined by the RRC signaling; and wherein a third power ratio stateof the DCI format is mapped to a power ratio value between 0.5 and 1with a second detailed power ratio value determined by the RRCsignaling.
 15. A method for wireless non-orthogonal multiple accesscommunications (NOMA), the method comprising: receiving, at a first userequipment (UE) from an evolved node B (eNB), a first subframe, the firstsubframe comprising a first downlink control indicator (DCI) directed tothe first UE, a second DCI directed to a second UE, first dataassociated with the first DCI, and second data associated with thesecond DCI, wherein the first DCI comprises a first NOMA signalindicator; processing, by the first UE, the first data as first higherpower NOMA data in response to the first NOMA signal indicator;receiving, at the first UE from the eNB, a second subframe, the secondsubframe comprising a third DCI associated with the first UE, a fourthDCI associated with the second UE, third data associated with the thirdDCI, and fourth data associated with the fourth DCI, wherein the thirdDCI comprises a second NOMA signal indicator; and processing, by thefirst UE, the second data as a second lower power NOMA subframe inresponse to the second NOMA signal indicator; wherein the first subframedirectly follows the second subframe as part of a first frame of data;wherein the NOMA signal indicator comprises eight bits of the first DCI,with each value state of the NOMA signal indicator representing a powerratio, with each power ratio comprising a value between 0 and 1,excluding the values of 0 and 0.5 and including the value
 1. 16. Themethod of claim of claim 15 further comprising: receiving, at the firstUE, a first radio resource control (RRC) signal comprising a first powerratio setting, wherein the first RRC signal is received prior to thefirst subframe.
 17. The method of claim 16 wherein the first NOMA signalindicator identifies a higher power transmission type, wherein thesecond NOMA signal indicator identifies a lower power transmission type,and wherein the first RRC signal identifies a first detailed power ratiovalue associated with the first data, and wherein the first RRC signalfurther identifies a second detailed power ratio value associated withthe second data.
 18. The method of claim 17 further comprising:receiving, at the first UE after receipt of the second subframe, asecond RRC signal comprising a second power ratio setting different fromthe first power ratio setting; receiving at the first UE after receiptof the second rRC signal, a third subframe comprising a fifth DCI andthird NOMA data, wherein the fifth DCI comprises a third NOMA signalindicator, wherein the second power ratio setting of the second RRCsignal comprises a third detailed power ratio value different associatedwith the third data, and wherein the third detailed power ratio value isdifferent than both the first detailed power ratio value and the seconddetailed power ratio value.
 19. An evolved node B (eNB) comprisinghardware processing circuitry configured to: select a first userequipment (UE) associated with the eNB to receive higher powernon-orthogonal multiple access (NOMA) communications; select a second UEdifferent than the first UE to receive lower power NOMA communicationsas part of a NOMA pair with the first UE; determine a first power ratioassociated with the higher power NOMA communications and a second powerratio associated with the lower power NOMA communications; generate afirst NOMA subframe, wherein the first NOMA subframe comprises: a firstdownlink control indicator (DCI) directed to the first UE in response toselection of the first UE to receive the higher power NOMAcommunications, the first DCI comprising the first power ratio; firsthigher power NOMA data associated with the first DCI; a second downlinkcontrol indicator (DCI) directed to the second UE in response toselection of the second UE to receive the lower power NOMAcommunications, the second DCI comprising the second power ratio; andfirst lower power NOMA data associated with the second DCI, wherein thefirst higher power NOMA data and the first lower power NOMA data areencoded together as a NOMA signal; and transmit the first NOMA subframevia an air interface as a first wireless signal to the first UE and thesecond UE; wherein the first DCI identifies that the first higher powerNOMA data is directed to the UE; wherein the first lower power NOMA datacomprises a signal directed to the second UE; and where the second DCIis associated with the first lower power NOMA data.
 20. The eNB of claim19 wherein the first DCI further comprises a NOMA signal indication; andwherein the NOMA signal indicator comprises eight bits of the first DCI,with each value state of the NOMA signal indicator representing a powerratio, with each power ratio comprising a value between 0 and 1,excluding the values of 0 and 0.5 and including the value
 1. 21. The eNBof claim 19 wherein the first power ratio is a ratio between 0.5 and 1;and wherein the second power ratio is between 0 and 0.5.
 22. The eNB ofclaim 19 wherein the first UE is selected to receive the higher powerNOMA communication based on a first signal to interference plus noiseratio (SINR) of the first UE.
 23. The eNB of claim 19, wherein the eNBis further configured to: select, following transmission of the firstwireless signal, the first UE to receive first orthogonal frequencydivision multiple access (OFDMA) data; select, following transmission ofthe first wireless signal, the second UE to receive second higher powerNOMA data; and select a third UE different than the first UE and thesecond UE to receive second lower power NOMA data.
 24. The eNB of claim23 wherein the eNB is further configured to: communicate a thirdsubframe comprising a third DCI and first OFDMA data to the first UE inresponse to selection of the first UE to receive the first OFDMAsubframe; communicate a fourth subframe to the second UE and the thirdUE, wherein the fourth subframe comprises: a fourth DCI comprising athird power ratio; a fifth DCI comprising a fourth power ratio; secondhigher power data associated with the fourth DCI; and second lower powerdata associated with the fifth DCI.